An autopsy has determined that the skeletal remains found in a wooded area of Howe Twp. last week are those of a female.

Authorities converged on the site about 25 yards from a pull-off along Routes 22/322 West on the afternoon of Sept. 9.

An autopsy was performed Sept. 13 at Lehigh Valley Hospital. The identity, age and race of the remains could not be determined. Nor were evaluations of the cause and time of death available pending further investigation.

The property recently changed hands, according to Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot III. He said the remains were discovered by a relative of the new owner, who called police sometime after noon on Sept. 9.

Chenot said the remains were wrapped in “some kind of blanket or sleeping bag.”

The wrapping was partially removed, Chenot said, “and the body was pretty badly decomposed. There were skeletal remains and not a lot of tissue.”

Officials would not say what kind of evidence, if any, was found at the scene. A state police helicopter arrived around 3:30 p.m. to take aerial photographs.

“That’s fairly routine,” Chenot said about dispatching a helicopter, adding it was done in the recently tried case against David Caffas.

State police established a yellow tape perimeter at the pull-off. County coroner Michael Shalonis and a state police forensic unit were at the scene.